Apparatus and method of adjusting power mode of a display of a device

ABSTRACT

Methods and devices for adjusting a power mode of a display are disclosed. An example method includes detecting a set of contact signals on a surface of the device and determining whether the set of contact signals correspond to a contact signature associated with an in-use state of the display. The example method further includes transitioning the power mode of the display to a power saving mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals do not correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display, and retaining the power mode of the display in a current power mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display. An additional example method may further include detecting whether a proximity sensor at the device is occluded prior to the transition.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional applicationSer. No. 15/375,991, entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD OF ADJUSTING POWERMODE OF A DISPLAY OF A DEVICE” and filed on Dec. 12, 2016, which isexpressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to saving power of a device, and moreparticularly, to adjusting a power mode of a display of the device.

A display of a device consumes a significant share of battery poweravailable of the device. For example, for a computer device, somereports estimate that a display may utilize about of 80% of the batterypower available at the device. Current solutions that attempt to changeoperation of the display to save power can work in some instances,however, such solutions also include certain drawbacks. For instance,some current solutions attempt to utilize a proximity sensor in thevicinity of the display, but these solutions often generate falsepositives of the proximity sensor being blocked, which causes thedisplay to be turned off prematurely and ruins the user experience.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more disclosedfeatures in order to provide a basic understanding of the disclosure.This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplatedimplementations, and is intended to neither identify key or criticalelements of all implementations nor delineate the scope of any or allimplementations of the present disclosure. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more features of the present disclosurein a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description thatis presented later.

One implementation relates to a method of detecting a set of contactsignals on a surface of the device, determining whether the set ofcontact signals correspond to a contact signature associated with anin-use state of the display, transitioning the power mode of the displayto a power saving mode in response to determining that the set ofcontact signals do not correspond to the contact signature associatedwith the in-use state of the display, and retaining the power mode ofthe display in a current power mode in response to determining that theset of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associatedwith the in-use state of the display.

In another implementation, an apparatus for adjusting a power mode of adisplay of a device may include a memory and a processor incommunication with the memory, wherein the processor is configured todetect a set of contact signals on a surface of the device, determinewhether the set of contact signals correspond to a contact signatureassociated with an in-use state of the display, transition the powermode of the display to a power saving mode in response to determiningthat the set of contact signals do not correspond to the contactsignature associated with the in-use state of the display, and retainthe power mode of the display in a current power mode in response todetermining that the set of contact signals correspond to the contactsignature associated with the in-use state of the display.

In a further implementation, a computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions executable by a processor for adjustinga power mode of a display of a device is disclosed. Thecomputer-readable medium includes instructions for detecting a set ofcontact signals on a surface of the device, determining whether the setof contact signals correspond to a contact signature associated with anin-use state of the display, transitioning the power mode of the displayto a power saving mode in response to determining that the set ofcontact signals do not correspond to the contact signature associatedwith the in-use state of the display, and retaining the power mode ofthe display in a current power mode in response to determining that theset of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associatedwith the in-use state of the display.

Additional advantages and novel features relating to features of thepresent disclosure will be set forth in part in the description thatfollows, and in part will become more apparent to those skilled in theart upon examination of the following or upon learning by practicethereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic block diagrams of an example device whichmay include one or more components and/or subcomponents for adjusting apower mode of a display at device in accordance with variousimplementations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an example digitizer system or digitizerfor detecting contacts signatures on the surface of the device inaccordance with various implementations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example method related to adjusting apower mode of a display at a device in accordance with variousimplementations of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4-6 are front views of a device including example contactsignatures which indicate whether the user of the device is engaged withthe device in accordance with various implementations of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example method of adjusting a power mode ofa display at a device in accordance with various implementations of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides for a mechanism/procedure/technique andan apparatus for adjusting a power mode of a display of a device. Apower mode adjusting component may be configured to determine whetherthe user of the device is engaged with the display of the device (e.g.,also referred to as “in-use state” of the display) based on a grip or atouch signature, also referred to as a contact signature, produced on asurface (e.g., display or sides) of the device. The power mode adjustingcomponent may transition the display of the device to a power savingmode (e.g., low power mode or an idle mode) when the contact signatureindicates the user is no longer engaged with the device, or may retainthe display of the device at the current power mode when the contactsignature indicates that the user is actively engaged with the displayof the device. Additionally, the power mode adjusting component may befurther configured to check whether a proximity sensor at the device isoccluded prior to the transitioning or retaining the power mode of thedisplay of the device, which may improve reliability of the procedure.Thus, implementations of the disclosed power mode adjusting componentmay improve efficiency in power usage of the display of the device.

FIG. 1A includes an example device 100 which may have one or morecomponents and/or subcomponents, such as a power mode adjustingcomponent 112, for adjusting a power mode of a display 144 incommunication with and/or controlled by device 100 based on contactsignatures and/or objects contacting or close to surface of device 100and being correlated with whether and/or how a user is engaged orinteracting with device 100. Although FIG. 1A includes display 144within device 100, it should be understood that in some cases display144 may be integrated with device 100, while in other cases display 144may be separate from device 100. It should also be noted that device 100may have multiple displays 144 and/or that different users may be usingthe multiple displays. In some implementations, device 100 may be apersonal computer (PC), gaming device, tablet, lap-top computer,personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone, mobile station (MS),user equipment (UE), etc. Device 100 may further include or otherwise becommunicatively coupled with a processor 110 and/or a memory 120, wherethe processor 110 and/or the memory 120 may be configured to execute orstore instructions or other parameters, such as a threshold 126, forperforming the functions described herein.

Additionally, device 100 may include one or more sensors 130, such asbut not limited to one or more proximity sensors 132. In one example,proximity sensor 132 may be an infrared (IR) sensor that can detect thepresence of nearby objects. For instance, proximity sensor 132 maydetect nearby objects based on proximity sensor 132 being occluded(e.g., blocked, obscured, etc.) by a human body part, such as the user'sear, fingers, and/or by other objects (e.g., device set face down on atable, device placed in the user's pockets). In another example,proximity sensor 132 may be located on display 100 where it ispositioned relative to display 144 (or any other structure on device100, e.g., edges of device 100, that may be relevant).

Further, display 144 may be or include a liquid crystal display (LCD), alight emitting diode (LED), an organic LED (OLED), or any other type ofoutput generating device that utilizes energy (e.g., power from abattery or electrical circuit). In an aspect, display 144 may be atouch-sensitive display, which may include a digitizer 146 that maydetect touch inputs (e.g., points and/or areas) on display 144, forexample, for detecting whether or not the user is engaged or interactingwith device 100. In an additional aspect, digitizer may 146 may beseparate from display 144. For example, digitizer 146 may be a touchsensor located on the back or edges of device 100 (and/or not connectedto display 144 of device 100) and providing information on how device100 us being touched and/or held.

Furthermore, device 100 may include one or more communicationcomponent(s) 140 for communicating with other devices via a wired orwireless interface (e.g., Bluetooth, radio frequency identification(RFID), near field communication (NFC), among other examples). Device100 may also include a battery 142 for providing power to variouscomponents and/or subcomponents of device 100.

Also, device 100 may include an operating system executed by processor110 and/or memory 120 of device 100. Memory 120 may be configured forstoring data and/or computer-executable instructions defining and/orassociated with operating system (and/or firmware). An example of memory120 may include, but is not limited to, a type of memory usable by acomputer, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM),tapes, magnetic discs, optical discs, volatile memory, non-volatilememory, and any combination thereof. Processor 110 may execute operatingsystem and/or one or more associated components such as power modeadjusting component 112. An example of processor 110 may include, but isnot limited to, any processor specially programmed as described herein,including a controller, microcontroller, application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), system on chip(SoC), or any other programmable logic or state machine.

Additionally, power mode adjusting component 112 may determine whether auser of device 100 is engaged with device 100 based on at least acontact signature associated with the user of device 100. A contactsignature may include, but is not limited to, a set of one or moremappings of points or areas of contact of an object, e.g., a user handor finger(s) or some other inanimate object (e.g., inside of a pocket,table surface), with a point or surface of device 100 and/or display144. In one implementation, the contact signature may be based on onlytouch contact (as opposed to both touch and proximity being detected).Further, such contact signatures may be correlated to a user engagedstate or a user not engaged state with respect to whether or not theuser is interacting with display 144. Further, one or more of sensors130, such as digitizer 146 and/or proximity sensor 132, may detectobjects in contact with or near one or more surfaces of device 100 andprovide the corresponding data, which may be transformed into a currentcontact signature. Power mode adjusting component 112 may transition apower mode of display 144 to a low power mode or an idle mode inresponse to determining that the user of device 100 is not engaged withdevice 100. Alternatively, power mode adjusting component 112 may retainthe power mode of display 144 in the current power mode in response todetermining that the user of device 100 is engaged with device 100.

Additionally, in some implementations, power mode adjusting component112 may further detect whether one or more proximity sensor(s) 132 atdevice 100 is occluded prior to transitioning the power mode of display144 to the low power mode or the idle mode, or retaining the power modeof display 144 in the current power mode.

FIG. 1B includes an example of additional sub-components of power modeadjusting component 112 that are configured to operate together foradjusting power mode of display 144 at device 100 in accordance withvarious implementations of the present disclosure.

For example, power mode adjusting component 112 may include contactsignal detecting component 172 (e.g., digitizer 146 or sensors 130) todetect a set of signals on a surface of device 100, a user engagementdetermination component 182 to determine whether a user of device 100 isengaged with device 100 based on at least a contact signature associatedwith a hand and/or finger(s) of the user in contact with device 100.Further, such contact signatures may be correlated to a user engagedstate or a user not engaged state. For example, contact signatures mayrepresent, but are not limited to, conditions such as the user grippingdevice 100 around edges of device 100, the user holding device 100 withone or two hands in a landscape orientation, or a contact covering amajority of display 144 of device 100. For instance, user engagementdetermination component 182 is configured to compare a currentlyreceived contact signature with a library of known contact signatures(e.g., each corresponding to a user engaged state or a user not engagedstate), to determine whether the user is engaged with device 100. Forexample, the comparison may include looking at a size of a contact,duration of the contact, movement of the contact, and/or signal strengthof the contact, etc.

Further, for example, power mode adjusting component 112 may includepower mode transition component 184 to transition the power mode ofdisplay 144 to a low power mode or an idle mode, or to retain the powermode of display 144 in the current power mode based at least on thedetermining whether the user of device 100 is engaged with device 100and/or the detecting whether proximity sensor 132 is occluded. In oneimplementation, power mode adjusting component 112 and/or power modetransition component 184 may send a notification to a display controllerto either turn off display (e.g., idle mode) with content no longerbeing rendered or dim a backlight panel (e.g., low power mode) withcontent still being rendered.

Furthermore, for example, power mode adjusting component 112 may includea proximity sensor occlusion detecting component 186 configured todetermine whether proximity sensor 132 at device 100 is occluded basedon communication with proximity sensor 132. For instance, proximitysensor occlusion detecting component 186 may query proximity sensor 132about the status of the proximity sensor 132, or proximity sensor 132may send notifications every time proximity sensor 132 changes states,for example, from blocked to unblocked or unblocked to blocked. In thiscase, proximity sensor occlusion detecting component 186 may infer froma blocked state of proximity sensor 132 that a user is not engaged orinteracting with display 144, while inferring from an unblocked state ofproximity sensor 132 that a user is engaged or interacting with display144. In one implementation, power mode adjusting component 112 and/orproximity sensor occlusion detecting component 186, via operating systemof device 100, may receive a reading from proximity sensor 132 thatproximity is detected with a distance to a detected object. If theobject is within a configured distance to proximity sensor 132, powermode adjusting component 112 and/or proximity sensor occlusion detectingcomponent 186 may determine that proximity sensor 132 is occluded.

Thus, according to the present disclosure, device 100 operating powermode adjusting component 112 is able to detect the intent of a user ofdevice 100, e.g., with respect to whether a power mode of display 144should be changed, based on whether the user is engaged with device 100(e.g., interacting with display 144). If not, then power mode adjustingcomponent 112 may idle or turn off display 144 of device 100 to savepower. This power savings mechanism may also be extended to includeinput from proximity sensor 132, which can provide an additional degreeof confidence to a power mode changing decision. In this case, thedecision to change the power mode of display 144 may be further based onwhether proximity sensor 132 is occluded, e.g., blocked, which mayindicate that the user is not engaged with device 100 (e.g., and/or notinteracting with display 144).

Referring to FIG. 2, according to an example implementation, a digitizersystem or digitizer 200, which may be same as or similar to digitizer146 of FIG. 1, may be a part of display 144 and may be used with anydevice 100 (e.g., computing device) to enable interactions between auser and device 100. For example, digitizer system 200 may be part of auser interface operative to detect inputs from one or more pens 290,fingers 204, and/or conductive objects 206.

Digitizer system 200 may include a sensor 212 including a patternedarrangement of conductive lines (sensor lines), which may be optionallytransparent, and which are typically overlaid on a display 202. Forexample, sensor 212 may be a grid-based sensor including horizontal andvertical lines. In some cases, a width of the conductive line may varyover its length, e.g., the width of the conductive line may be narroweraround the vicinity of junction points of the grid and wider between thejunction points. In some cases, the conductive lines may be shaped likea diamond shape array with diamond points matched to junction points. Insome implementations, the parallel conductive lines are equally spacedstraight lines, and are input to amplifiers included in applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC) 216. For example, the amplifiers maybe differential amplifiers.

ASIC 216 includes, for example, circuitry to process and sample anoutput of the sensor 212 and generate a digital representation. Thedigital output signal is forwarded to a digital unit 220, e.g., adigital ASIC unit, for further digital processing. For instance, digitalunit 220 together with ASIC 216 may serve as a controller of thedigitizer system 200 and/or may have the functionality of a controllerand/or a processor. In some cases, a single unit may be used, e.g., in asmall screen with limited number of lines. In some other additional oroptional implementations, ASIC 216 operates as a detection unit forprocessing and sampling the output of the sensor 212. The outcome, whichcan be a part of a contact signature, once determined, is forwarded to ahost 222, e.g., a computer device or a host computer device, which maybe the same as or similar to device 100, via an interface 224 forprocessing by the operating system or any current application. In oneimplementation, touch classification may be performed inside a touchcontroller and the touch controller may communicate, via a communicationchannel, power mode of device 100 to an arbiter of the power mode. Inanother implementation, control functionality may be additionally orexclusively included in the host 222, and ASIC 216 and digital unit 220may be provided as a single ASIC. In some other optionalimplementations, digital unit 220 and ASICs 216 may be mounted in a PCB230.

ASIC 216 may be connected to the outputs of the various conductive linesin the grid and functions to process the received signals at a firstprocessing stage. In some cases, instead of a PCB 230 positioned alongtwo sides of sensor 212, a flex cable may be used to connect theconductive lines to ASICs 216, e.g., positioned away from a sensingsurface of digitizer 200. As indicated above, ASIC 216 may include oneor more arrays of amplifiers, e.g., an array of differential amplifiers,an array of single ended amplifiers, or any array of differentialamplifiers, and optionally including one grounded input to amplify thesensor's signals. In some other additional or optional implementations,the grounding input may be selected by ASIC 216. ASIC 216 may optionallyinclude one or more filters to remove irrelevant frequencies.Additionally, filtering is performed prior to sampling. The signal isthen sampled by an A/D, optionally filtered by a digital filter andforwarded to digital ASIC unit, for further digital processing.Alternatively, the optional filtering is fully digital or fully analog.

For instance, digital unit 220 receives the sampled data from ASIC 216,reads the sampled data, processes it and determines and/or tracks theposition of physical objects, such as pen 290 and/or finger 204,touching the digitizer sensor 212. Further, for example, digital unit220 is operative to decode information encoded in a transmission signalfrom pen 290, e.g., pressure on tip, right-click and/or eraser mode,color for tracing, and identification, etc. According to someimplementations, hovering of an object, e.g., pen 290, finger 204 and/orhand, may be detected and processed by digital unit 220. In any case,digital unit 220 can send a calculated position to the host 222 viainterface 224.

In some implementations, digitizer system or digitizer 200 has severalchannels, i.e., interfaces included within interface 224, with the host.In an example, interface 224 includes a pen interface for transmittingpen coordinates on the display screen, and a finger touch interface fortransmitting finger touch coordinates on the display screen. In someadditional examples, a same interface of interface 224 may transmitfinger touch coordinates based on both single touch detection method andmulti-touch detection method, for example, as described below inreference to FIGS. 4-6. Optionally, the interface 224 may transmitinformation on detected gestures.

Further, digital unit 220 may be operative to control operation of oneor more ASIC(s) 216. For instance, digital unit 220 may be operative toprovide a command signal to ASIC 216 to switch between a plurality ofavailable circuit paths (two or more) to connect to outputs of thevarious conductive lines in the grid. In some cases, digital unit 220together with ASIC 216 provides for alternately connecting outputs ofthe various conductors to one of an array of differential amplifiers andan array of single ended amplifiers (or differential amplifiers with onegrounded input). In other cases, digital unit 220 may be operative tocontrol triggering of one or more conductive lines. In other examples,ASIC 216 together with digital unit 220 provide for triggering variousconductors with an oscillating signal having a selected pre-definedfrequency or frequencies.

Digital unit 220 may include at least a memory unit and a processingunit to store and process information obtained from ASIC 216. Memory andprocessing capability are also generally included in host 222 and ASIC126. According to some implementations, memory and processingfunctionality may be divided between any combination of host 222,digital unit 220, and/or ASIC 216.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example method 300 related to adjusting apower mode of display 144 at device 100 in accordance with variousimplementations of the present disclosure. Although the operationsdescribed below are presented in a particular order and/or as beingperformed by an example component, it should be understood that theordering of the actions and the components performing the actions may bevaried, depending on the implementation.

At an optional block 310, power mode adjusting component 112 and/orproximity sensor occlusion detecting component 186 detects thatproximity sensor 132 is occluded (e.g., blocked, obstructed). Asdescribed above in reference to FIG. 1, proximity sensor 132 may be anIR sensor that can detect the presence of nearby objects, and may havebeen occluded by user's ear/fingers, by device 100 being placed faceddown on a table, or by device 100 being in user's pockets, as describedin detail in reference to FIGS. 4-6.

400609-US-CNT

Method 300 may proceed to block 320, either initially or, optionally,based on a determination that proximity sensor 132 is occluded.Specifically, at block 320, method 300 may determine whether any touchsignals are detected on display 144 of device 100. The touch signals maybe detected by digitizer 146 as described above in detail in referenceto FIG. 2.

In one option, from block 320, method 300 may proceed to block 330 basedon a determination that touch signals are detected at display 144 ofdevice 100. Specifically, at block 330, method 330 may determine whetherthe touch signals detected by digitizer 146 are associated with acontact signature that may indicate that the user of power modeadjusting component device 100 is engaged with the device 100. Forexample, as discussed above, power mode adjusting component 112 and/oruser engagement determination component 182 may determine whether theuser is gripping device 100 around edges of device 100 or holding device100 with one or two hands in a landscape orientation.

Alternatively, in another option from block 320, method 300 may proceedto block 325 based on a determination that digitizer 146 does not detectany touch signals on display 144 of the device. At block 325, display144 of device 100 may be transitioned to a lower power mode or sleepmode in response to determining that no touch signals are detected atdisplay 144 of device 100, as described in detail in reference to FIGS.4-6.

In one option, from block 330, method 300 may proceed to block 340 basedon a determination that the touch signals are associated with a contactsignature that indicate that the user of device 100 is engaged withdevice 100. Specifically, at block 340, method 300 may retain (e.g.,leave, keep, etc.) display 144 of device 100 in the current power state(e.g., normal power state), as described in detail in reference to FIGS.4-6. This ensures that display 144 of device 100 is not erroneouslyidled or transitioned to a low power state when the user is engaged withdevice 100, which may affect the user's experience.

Alternatively, in the other option from block 330, method 300 mayproceed to block 325 based on a determination that the touch signals arenot associated with a contact signature that indicate a user is engagedwith device 100, for example, a smudge on a majority portion of thedisplay of device 100 (FIG. 4).

In some implementations, power mode adjusting component 112 maytransition the display of the device to the normal power state once thepower mode adjusting component 112 determines that the user is engagedwith device 100 and/or proximity sensor 132 is not blocked. Thus,according to the present disclosure, power mode adjusting component 112may adjust a power mode of display 144 at device 100 based on whetherthe user is engaged with device 100 and/or whether proximity sensor 132is occluded, which may thereby balance user experience with powersavings.

FIG. 4 includes an example contact signature that indicates the user ofthe device is not engaged with the device in accordance with oneimplementation of the present disclosure.

For example, device 400, which may be same as or similar to device 100of FIG. 1, may include a proximity sensor 410 that may or may not beoccluded (as indicated by the unfilled circle formed by a solid line),and a digitizer 440 (as indicated by a dotted line) that detects contacton a display 430 (as indicated by a solid line) of device 400 (same asor similar to display 144 of device 100) and produces a contactsignature 420, also referred to as a smudge 420. It should be noted thatdigitizer 440 may not literally display contact signature 420 on display430. Digitizer 440 may be the same as or similar to digitizer 146discussed above. For example, contact signature 420 may cover a majority(or other determined percentage or area) of display 430 of device 400and may be associated with device 400 being placed in a pocket of theuser with display 430 facing a leg of the user, or with device 400 beingplaced faced down on an object (e.g., a table).

Device 400 may determine whether contact signature 420 covers a majority(or other determined percentage or area) of display 430 by comparing thearea covered by contact signature 420 with a threshold 126 (e.g., anarea or percentage of the area of the display). For example, in anaspect, power mode adjusting component 112 may determine whether contactsignature 420 is sufficiently large (or big) enough to be associatedwith device 400 being placed in the pocket of the user with the displayfacing the leg of the user, or faced down on an object, by comparing thesize of the smudge with threshold 126, such as whether contact signature420 covers at least 75% of a display area of display 430. It should beunderstood that threshold 126 may be set to any configurable value. Inthis example, if contact signature 420 occupies 80% of the display areaof display 430, then power mode adjusting component 112 may determinethat contact signature 420 does not match or correlate to, or is notassociated with, a contact signature that indicates the user is engagedwith the device (in other words, contact signature 420 matches,correlates to, or is associated with, a contact signature that indicatesthe user is not engaged with the device). As such, power mode adjustingcomponent 112 may transition display 430 to a low power mode or idlemode. Alternatively, in another case where contact signature 420 may besmaller, such as when contact signature 420 occupies, for example, 20%of the display area of display 430, power mode adjusting component 112may determine that contact signature 420 may be associated with acontact signature that indicates the user is engaged with the device. Inthis scenario, power mode adjusting component 112 may maintain display430 in a current power mode.

In some implementations, once display 430 of device 400 is transitionedto a low power mode or idle mode, power mode adjusting component 112 mayfurther disable display 430 of device 400 from waking up (e.g.,transitioning to the normal power state) to avoid display 430 of device400 transitioning to the normal power state, e.g., due to accidentalpressing of buttons on device 400 when device 400 is located, forexample, in the pocket of the user. In this scenario, for instance, theuser of device 400 may have to actively provide an input to the 400 totransition to the normal power state.

FIG. 5 includes an example contact signature that indicates the user ofthe device is engaged with the device in accordance with oneimplementation of the present disclosure.

For example, device 500, which may be same as or similar to device 100of FIG. 1, may include a proximity sensor 510 that is not occluded (asindicated by the unfilled circle formed by a dashed line), and adigitizer 540 (as indicated by a dotted line) that detects contact on adisplay 530 (as indicated by a solid line) of device 500 and produces acontact signature 520. It should be noted that digitizer 540 may notliterally display contact signature 520 on display 530. Digitizer 540may be the same as or similar to digitizer 146 discussed above. In thiscase, contact signature 520 may indicate a user of device 500 grippingdevice 500 around the edges of display 530 (e.g., along the edges ofdevice 500). Contact signature 520 may be represented by “blooms” alongthe edges of display 530. For instance, FIG. 5 indicates a user holdingdevice 500 with a right hand of the user, as shown by four touches onthe left side of display and one touch on right side of display 530.Based on contact signature 520, power mode adjusting component 112 maydetermine that contact signature 520 matches, correlates to, or may beassociated with a contact signature of the user gripping the devicearound the edges of device 500, thereby indicating the user is engagedwith device 500. In this case, power mode adjusting component 112 maymake this determination without proximity sensor 510 being occluded, andmay retain the power mode of display 530 in the current power mode.Alternatively, in another case where contact signature 520 fails tomatch, power mode adjusting component 112 may determine that contactsignature 520 may be associated with a contact signature that indicatesthe user is not engaged with the device. In this scenario, power modeadjusting component 112 may transition display 530 of device 500 to thelow power mode or the normal power mode.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example contact signature that indicates the userof the device is engaged with the device in accordance with oneimplementation of the present disclosure.

For example, device 600, which may be same as or similar to device 100of FIG. 1, may include a proximity sensor 610, which may be occluded (asindicated by the filled circle), and a digitizer 640 (as indicated by adotted line) that detects contact on a display 630 (as indicated by asolid line) of device 600 and produces a contact signature 620. Itshould be noted that digitizer 640 may not literally display contactsignature 620 on display 630. Digitizer 640 may be the same as orsimilar to digitizer 146 discussed above. In this case, contactsignature 620 may indicate the user is holding device 600 with one ortwo hands in a landscape orientation as indicated by the user's palmsand/or thumbs in contact signature 620. In response, power modeadjusting component 112 may determine that contact signature 620matches, correlates to, or may be associated with a contact signature ofthe user holding device 600 with one or two hands in a landscapeorientation, and indicating the user of device 600 is engaged withdevice 600 with proximity sensor 610 occluded. As such, power modeadjusting component 112 may retain the power mode of display 630 in thecurrent power mode. Alternatively, in another case where contactsignature 620 fails to match, power mode adjusting component 112 maydetermine that contact signature 620 may be associated with a contactsignature that indicates the user is not engaged with the device. Inthis scenario, power mode adjusting component 112 may transition display630 of device 600 to the low power mode or the normal power mode.

FIG. 7 includes an example of a method 700 performed by power modeadjusting component 112 of device 100 for adjusting a power mode ofdisplay 144 at device 100.

For example, at block 710, method 700 may optionally include detectingwhether a proximity sensor at the device is occluded. For example, powermode adjusting component 112 may detect whether proximity sensor 132 isoccluded. In some implementations, the status (e.g., blocked/unblocked)of proximity sensor 132 may be used, in addition to the contactsignatures, to determine whether to transition device 100 to a lowpower/idle mode or retain the power mode of display 144 in the currentpower mode.

For example, at block 720, method 700 may include detecting a set ofsignals on a surface of the device. For example, power mode adjustingcomponent 112 may detect a set of contact signals (e.g., one or moresignals) on a surface (e.g., display or edges of device 100).

For example, at block 730, method 700 may include determining whetherthee set of contact signals correspond to a contact signature associatedwith an in-use state of the display. For example, power mode adjustingcomponent 112 may determine whether the set of contact signalscorrespond to a contact signature, for example, described in detail inreference to FIGS. 4-6, associated with an in-use state of display 144.

For example, the contact signature may be a first contact signatureassociated with the user gripping device 100 around the edges of device100 indicating the user is engaged with device 100 (e.g., contactsignature 520 of FIG. 5), a second contact signature associated with theuser holding device 100 with one or two hands in a landscapeorientation, indicating the user of device 100 is engaged with device100 (e.g., contact signature 620 of FIG. 6), and a third contactsignature associated with a contact covering a majority of display 144indicating the user of device 100 is not engaged with the device (e.g.,contact signature 420 of FIG. 4). It should be noted that other contactsignatures may be utilized, including contact signatures that indicatethe user is not engaged with device 100 as well as contact signaturesthat indicate the user is engaged with device 100. Further, for example,power mode adjusting component 112 may receive current contactsignatures based on contacts detected by digitizer 146, compare contactsignatures with known contact signatures, and identify if there is amatch.

At block 740, method 700 includes transitioning the power mode of thedisplay to a power saving mode in response to determining that the setof contact signals do not correspond to the contact signature associatedwith the in-use state of the display.

At block 750, method 700 includes retaining the power mode of thedisplay in a current power mode in response to determining that the setof contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated withthe in-use state of the display.

In some implementations, power mode adjusting component 112 and/or powermode transition component 184 may retain the power mode of the displayin the current power mode (e.g., standard or normal power mode) inresponse to determining that the contact signature is the first contactsignature associated with the user gripping the device around edges ofthe device, and with or without the proximity sensor being occluded. Forexample, proximity sensor 132 may have been occluded by the user's otherhand.

Further, in some implementations, power mode adjusting component 112and/or power mode transition component 184 may retain the power mode ofthe display in the current power mode in response to determining thatthe contact signature is a second contact signature associated with theuser holding the device with one or two hands in the landscape viewindicating the user of the device is engaged with the device and withthe proximity sensor occluded.

Furthermore, in some implementations, power mode adjusting component 112and/or power mode transition component 184 may transition the power modeof the display to a low power mode or an idle mode in response todetermining that the contact signature is a third contact signatureassociated with smudge covering a majority of the display (e.g., 420 ofFIG. 4) indicating the user of the device is not engaged with the deviceand with the proximity sensor occluded.

The implementations described above also provide for transitioningdisplay 144 to a low power mode or an idle mode when display 144 (or atouch panel of display 144) is covered by a non-capacitive object (e.g.,a table) based on the occlusion of proximity sensor 132 and absence ofany grip or touch signatures on display 144 of device 100.

Thus, the power mode of display 144 at device 100 may be adjusted tosave power and/or avoid erroneously idling display 144 at device 100.The implementations described above achieve a balance between powersavings and user experience.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “system” and thelike are intended to include a computer-related entity, such as but notlimited to hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software,software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, butis not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor,an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running on acomputer device and the computer device can be a component. One or morecomponents can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and acomponent may be localized on one computer and/or distributed betweentwo or more computers. In addition, these components can execute fromvarious computer readable media having various data structures storedthereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remoteprocesses such as in accordance with a signal having one or more datapackets, such as data from one component interacting with anothercomponent in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a networksuch as the Internet with other systems by way of the signal.

Moreover, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clearfrom the context, the phrase “X employs A or B” is intended to mean anyof the natural inclusive permutations. That is, the phrase “X employs Aor B” is satisfied by any of the following instances: X employs A; Xemploys B; or X employs both A and B. In addition, the articles “a” and“an” as used in this application and the appended claims shouldgenerally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwiseor clear from the context to be directed to a singular form.

Various implementations or features will be presented in terms ofsystems that may include a number of devices, components, modules, andthe like. It is to be understood and appreciated that the varioussystems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/ormay not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussedin connection with the figures. A combination of these approaches mayalso be used.

The various illustrative logics, logical blocks, and actions of methodsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented or performed with a specially-programmed one of a generalpurpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array(FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processormay be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may beany conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or statemachine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputer devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Additionally, at leastone processor may comprise one or more components operable to performone or more of the steps and/or actions described above.

Further, the steps and/or actions of a method or algorithm described inconnection with the implementations disclosed herein may be embodieddirectly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, orin a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage mediumknown in the art. An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to theprocessor, such that the processor can read information from, and writeinformation to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storagemedium may be integral to the processor. Further, in someimplementations, the processor and the storage medium may reside in anASIC. Additionally, the ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In thealternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discretecomponents in a user terminal. Additionally, in some implementations,the steps and/or actions of a method or algorithm may reside as one orany combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a machinereadable medium and/or computer readable medium, which may beincorporated into a computer program product.

In one or more implementations, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmittedas one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be anyavailable media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM,EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used tocarry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, asused herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disksusually reproduce data magnetically, while discs usually reproduce dataoptically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be includedwithin the scope of computer-readable media.

While implementations of the present disclosure have been described inconnection with examples thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that variations and modifications of the implementationsdescribed above may be made without departing from the scope hereof.Other implementations will be apparent to those skilled in the art froma consideration of the specification or from a practice in accordancewith implementations disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of adjusting a power mode of a display of a device, comprising: detecting a set of contact signals on a touch surface of the device; determining whether the set of contact signals correspond to a contact signature associated with an in-use state of the display based on one or more of a signal strength or a duration corresponding to the set of contact signals, and based on a number of contacts of an object with the touch surface of the display or a movement of the contacts of the object, wherein the contact signature corresponds to one or more mappings of areas of the contacts of the object; transitioning the power mode of the display to a power saving mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals do not correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display; and retaining the power mode of the display in a current power mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting whether a proximity sensor at the device is occluded, wherein transitioning the power mode of the display to the power saving mode and retaining the power mode of the display in the current power mode are further based on whether the proximity sensor is occluded.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the contact signature is associated with the device being held around edges of the device indicating the in-use state of the display, wherein the detecting includes detecting the proximity sensor is not occluded, and retaining the power mode of the display in the current power mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display and detecting that the proximity sensor is not occluded.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the contact signature is associated with the device being held with one or two hands in a landscape orientation indicating the in-use state of the display, wherein the detecting includes detecting the proximity sensor is occluded, and retaining the power mode of the display in the current power mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display and detecting that the proximity sensor is occluded.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the contact signature is associated with the display of the device being covered which does not indicate the in-use state of the display, wherein the detecting includes detecting the proximity sensor is occluded, and transitioning the power mode of the display to the power saving mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals do not correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: comparing a size of the set of contact signals on the touch surface of the device with a threshold; and determining whether the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with in-use state of the display based on a result of the comparing.
 7. The method of claim 5, further comprising: disabling the display of the device in response to detecting a button being pressed on the device after transitioning the device to the power saving mode.
 8. An apparatus for adjusting a power mode of a display of a device, comprising: a memory; and a processor in communication with the memory, wherein the processor is configured to: detect a set of contact signals on a touch surface of the device; determine whether the set of contact signals correspond to a contact signature associated with an in-use state of the display based on one or more of a signal strength or a duration corresponding to the set of contact signals, and based on a number of contacts of an object with the touch surface of the display or a movement of the contacts of the object, wherein the contact signature corresponds to one or more mappings of areas of the contacts of the object; transition the power mode of the display to a power saving mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals do not correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display; and retain the power mode of the display in a current power mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to: detect whether a proximity sensor at the device is occluded, wherein transition the power mode of the display to the power saving mode and retain the power mode of the display in the current power mode are further based on whether the proximity sensor is occluded.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the contact signature is associated with the device being held around edges of the device indicating the in-use state of the display, wherein the proximity sensor is not occluded, and wherein the processor is further configured to retain the power mode of the display in the current power mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display and that the proximity sensor is not occluded.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the contact signature is associated with the device being held with one or two hands in a landscape orientation indicating the in-use state of the display, wherein the proximity sensor is occluded, and wherein the processor is further configured to retain the power mode of the display in the current power mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display and that the proximity sensor is occluded.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the contact signature is associated with the display of the device being covered which does not indicate the in-use state of the display, wherein the proximity sensor is occluded, and wherein the processor is further configured to transition the power mode of the display to the power saving mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals do not correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to: compare a size of the set of contact signals on the touch surface of the device with a threshold; and determine whether the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with in-use state of the display based on a result of the size of the set of contact signals on the touch surface of the device being compared with the threshold.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to: disable the display of the device in response to detecting a button being pressed on the device after transitioning the device to the power saving mode.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions executable by a processor for adjusting a power mode of a display of a device, comprising: instructions for detecting a set of contact signals on a touch surface of the device; instructions for determining whether the set of contact signals correspond to a contact signature associated with an in-use state of the display based on one or more of a signal strength or a duration corresponding to the set of contact signals, and based on a number of contacts of an object with the touch surface of the display or a movement of the contacts of the object, wherein the contact signature corresponds to one or more mappings of areas of the contacts of the object; instructions for transitioning the power mode of the display to a power saving mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals do not correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display; and instructions for retaining the power mode of the display in a current power mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising: instructions for detecting whether a proximity sensor at the device is occluded, wherein transitioning the power mode of the display to the power saving mode and retaining the power mode of the display in the current power mode are further based on whether the proximity sensor is occluded.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the contact signature is associated with the device being held around edges of the device indicating the in-use state of the display, wherein the proximity sensor is not occluded, and further comprising instructions for retaining the power mode of the display in the current power mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display and that the proximity sensor is not occluded.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the contact signature is associated with the device being held with one or two hands in a landscape orientation indicating the in-use state of the display, wherein the proximity sensor is occluded, and further comprising instructions for retaining the power mode of the display in the current power mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display and that the proximity sensor is occluded.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the contact signature is associated with the display of the device being covered which does not indicate the in-use state of the display, wherein the proximity sensor is occluded, and further comprising instructions for transitioning the power mode of the display to the power saving mode in response to determining that the set of contact signals do not correspond to the contact signature associated with the in-use state of the display.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising: instructions for comparing a size of the set of contact signals on the touch surface of the device with a threshold; and instructions for determining whether the set of contact signals correspond to the contact signature associated with in-use state of the display based on a result of the comparing. 